Reinhardt has fallen out of favor in Overwatch recently, but recent buffs in the November 13 PTR update has made the tank almost impossible to knock back, giving him some relevance again.
Reinhardt has been neglected on the Overwatch battlefield recently.
While he was a core component of the triple-tank triple-support GOATS meta that plagued competitive Overwatch for a year, the introduction of role lock relegated the German tank to the bench.
Orisa provided more effective shielding, and she didn’t have to choose between doing one or the other. Sigma had crowd control that could go through opponents shields, making Earthshatter useless in comparison.
However, Rein mains will be laughing to the bank as their favorite hero finds relevance again, with a 20% buff to his knockback resistance in the latest PTR patch.
A video uploaded to Twitter by Houston Outlaws flex support Shane ‘Rawkus’ Flaherty demonstrates how hard it is to displace a Reinhardt with the buff to his knockback resistance.
Put up against a Doomfist, Winston, and Lucio, the Reinhardt barely moved from the spot with his 50% knockback reduction. A Doomfist punch barely moved the titan an inch, while a primal raging Winston could hardly knock about the Rein.
Given Reinhardt needs to be at the front of the line to protect his allies, having more knockback resistance means he can hold strong more effectively.
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https://twitter.com/Rawkus/status/1194791054232281089
The increased knockback reduction weren’t the only changes made to Rein’s kit. He lost 400 health on his Barrier Field, bringing it down to 1600 health. However, given the massive nerfs to Sigma and Orisa’s barriers — which lost 600 and 300 health respectively — he might rise up as a premier shield tank once again.
He also regained some mobility, with the movement speed penalty while holding up his shield reduced to 25%, meaning he will be more mobile.
This, combined with the knockback resistance, means Reinhardt will be able to hold the door for any ally, and be unfazed with whatever the enemy throws at him.
Buffs to Zarya also means we might see the iconic Rein-Zarya duo rise again. Zarya’s Graviton Surve complements Reinhardt well, with the German juggernaut able to swing his axe through multiple enemies stuck in the gravity field.
The changes are live on the PTR right now, with no set date to hit live. However, with the massive hero balance changes, and Skirmish being replaced, Overwatch players will be licking their lips when this patch goes through for real.
